Wedding Guests: How to Explain Small Wedding Guest List?

My fiance and I are having a small, intimate wedding, and I'm afraid some friends will be offended that they're not invited. What should we do?

A:

Be honest with your friends. Simply explain that your wedding is going to be very small and with two families to accommodate, it's simply impossible to invite everyone you want to (it's okay to fudge a little). This might be a difficult conversation, but if they really are your friends, they should understand.

When making up your guest list, keep in mind that if you have to give a great amount of thought to whether to invite a specific person, you probably should keep them off the list. And never invite anyone out of guilt. As a wise wedding planner once said, "Your wedding guests should be the people you both adore." Think of yourselves as the party planners of a grand event, and like all good party planners, you have to be the ones to draw the line. After all, it's your party -- and you should invite whom you want!